Credit: Oxfam

FightingDomesticViolence

Rural Communities in India

Ending violence against women

Violence against women is the most common form of human rights violation in India. It is such a deeply ingrained, socially accepted “right” for men to beat their wives, that women are trapped in a life of violence. Shame, stigma, and a lack of support from the police and the legal system prevent many women from reporting domestic violence and seeking help.

The Asian Circle is working with Oxfam in rural Adivasi communities in Chhattisgarh and Odisha to challenge the social acceptance of sexual and domestic violence against women.

There’s a long road ahead but together we are already changing lives.

We are helping the government, the police and judiciary to apply the laws that protect women, and setting up support centres that offer medical care, legal advice, counselling and shelters to survivors of gender-based violence.

We have also launched a state-wide campaign to raise awareness of and change attitudes towards violence against women.

Progress so far

In Chhattisgarh state, there has been State-Level Consultation on the State Gender Equality Policy, a policy which was not revisited for more than a decade. Women from across the state participated to reflect their concerns and issues on the policy gaps.

In Odisha, “Gender Times” sessions were organised at colleges, which increased engagement of adolescents and youth groups with gender issues.

Watch The Asian Circle’s short film about their visit to the project:

Bina's story

When Bina was pregnant, she was physically and verbally abused by her husband and threatened with more abuse if she told anyone. When she fled to her family’s home, her husband attacked them too.

Bina and her family went to the police station but the police refused to help her. Luckily, one of The Circle’s and Oxfam’s partner organisations spotted the family as they were walking into the police station and offered their help.

The organisation offered Bina counselling and legal support. She has managed to put her husband behind bars, has applied for child maintenance and is learning how to sew so that she can get a job and raise her son Vijay, who is two years old now.